Portraits of Jordan with the NEW Nikon 85mm

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I finally invested in a couple new lenses. Since I am working more and more to improve myself in the world of portraiture, I HAD to get an 85mm lens. This is a classic look and I a SOOOOO glad I made this purchase. I have used it on a couple sessions already but for now, I wanted to share some photos I made of my son Jordan. I simply put him on a stool in the doorway and allowed the light to wash over him. These were all at f2.0 @ 1/1600. These are lightly touched up (some grain and a bump in mids), I did not take them through my entire portrait workflow… just Photo Mechanic to Lightroom to the blog.

Finishing a 365 Project

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THIS is how I am going to preserve my photo projects FOREVER

A little background, a 365 project is a project that you do over the course of a year (365 days).  This is like the marathon of projects.  We all can run to the door for the pizza guy, or to the car in the rain but it would take some dedication and LOVE to train to run 26 plus miles.

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Kids, Families and Xbox Live

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This was the time of year that I love a lot.  The leaves are falling, Christmas is near and I am able to nerd out with some other older-than-the-normal-gamers for some Call of Duty on Xbox Live.  Don’t judge, but I do sit there with an iced stimulant and some snack (Hershey’s with almonds lately) and attempt to hold my own amongst the world’s offering of 12 year old super hand-eye coordinated video gamers.  Needles to say, I ROCK!  Seriously, if you are on xbox live, my gamer tag is mPesh and I can use all the help I can get

Anyway, this time of year also gets me photographing families.  I have a lot of fun with the family portrait sessions that I do because they let me into the lives of my clients just a little more.  Some of my clients have been in front of my camer from their engagement, through the wedding, for the birth of their children and off into the family portrait times.  It’s fin to watch the kids grow up over time and it is especially fun for me to see the kids drive mom and dad crazy when it’s time to say “cheese”

The parents are cool and all but I have to say, the kids are where I have the most fun and find the most inspiration….  maybe it’s because I still like watching cartoon movies, or that I play video games, but whatever it is, they like me.  If only for the time we are shooting, they are cool little balls of energy, but they tend to take some of my suggestions and play along with my antics.  Just last night I was photographing a family and the eldest child, a boy, was trying HARD to keep a smile.  I thought he looked like a robot so I said so, and the cutest genuine smile showed up alongside a cute laugh.  Now, maybe he really did have a fun time, or he secretly is a robot in a kids body…  either way we connected and he let his mom know how fun the pictures were (“cause mike was funny”).

I had a good time, and I loved the outcome so I thought I would share some recent family stuff:

My son is here!

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After all this wait, I finally was able to meet my son.  On October 27, 2010 at 4:10 PM, Michael Ryan Poeschl was born.  He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  We had an eventful delivery, a lot of people were there, even Grandma Jody on Skype from South Carolina!

I’m writing this from the recovery room a couple days later, just ready to leave.  I cannot wait to have him home with his brother and sister and pets.

Here are some images that I took during the day(s) – if you weren’t on facebook during the day, here is what you missed!

Rainy days and my 50mm

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We are either in an el nino or an el nina, I’m not really sure… but it has been a WET past week. I have been bad about keeping up with the daily photo blog but I will be back at it, I promise. I have a lot to blog about here so here is first of a few posts.

How normal is YOUR family?

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As I was editing these images, I was wondering what a “normal” family looks like these days.  When I think about family, I think of a nice clean family tree complete with appropriate branches…  you know, grandma and grandpa – married only once and FOREVER.  Followed by their children, including my father… married to my mother, again only once and FOREVER.  Followed by me and my brother and sister, where I am married only once and forever, and so on.

The truth about my immediate family is that my parents were married and since divorced and remarried.  My dad had a daughter with my step-mom, my mom was done after my brother and me. I was married, had Jordan, divorced, married Heather, had Grace and have Michael on the way.

TYPICAL?

As a wedding photographer, I get the distinct honor of being let into a family for a day, a GREAT day.  I get to learn how the families are made and how they grow and of the most recent weddings, many of them are blended families.  I have seen step-mom’s dancing with their step-sons and big families getting bigger through marriage, kinda like the Brady Bunch

So back to these images and the story behind them.  Heather, Jordan, Grace and I were headed to meet with Jordan’s mom Katie and his sister Alexis at a local park.  I had my gear there and took the opportunity to grab some images.  From the outside, seeing a blended family is a little weird…  I mean how awkward is it?  Do they get a long?  In our case, we are not awkward and it is totally cool.  Heather and Katie talk a lot.  And since Grace is Jordan’s sister, Alexis considers Grace her sister too.  Ask me back in the early days if I thought Katie and I would be able to get along like this and I would have liked the thought but would have also thought you were crazy.  I sure am glad we are grown up enough to have worked out the situation we have now.

So, we are FAMILY – even if the tree is a little ornate

5 Reasons to Attend Photography Workshops

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5 Reasons to Attend Photography Workshops

I have had the luxury to attend some workshops centered around the wedding photography industry and I have to say that I have found the experiences to be very fulfilling.  For those of you who do not know, I am returning (FULL FORCE) to wedding photography after spending time around the brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) scene for a bit.  I really missed the wedding environment, and after being a little disconnected for a while, I thought it a good idea to rub elbows with some like-minded folks.  Here are the reasons that I attend and plan to continue well into the future:

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Workshop images for Southern Weddings

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I am pretty stoked right now   thanks to Mike Colon for the opportunity and for sharing my work.

Recently, I attended Mike Colon Atlanta Workshop.  Aside from it being a killer educational opportunity, the second shoot afforded us a chance to be published  Take a look at the post on Southern Weddings Blog .  Here are the images that I submitted and on their site you can see what made it to their blog.  I would have expected to be published from a wedding before anything else but being published is just a blessing.

Here’s a little update on the education and my path to becoming a standout southern california destination wedding photographer…  About 2 months ago, I began working closely with Mike Colon in a kind of a mentorship.  Well, not “kinda” – a real mentorship.  I will blog a bit more about how I find this level of education valuable but for now I will say that it is eye-opening, humbling and a challenge but I LOVE IT!  I am working every day to better my business, my technical skills and my network.  So if you find yourself in southern california and want to shoot together, or need a helping hand, let me know.

Now for the images…

Thanks to all the Vendors: Styling and decor: Joy Thigpen / Models: Susanna and Kenneth McMillian / Makeup and hair: Lauren Bricken / Invitations:Paisley Papers / Gown: Allie from Impressions Bridal / Lead photographer: Mike Colon / Location: Waters Mill Weddings and Events

Bridal Fashion, Gowns by Jaime Elyse Stephens

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This weekend I was pleased to photograph a great model and all around cool person in some NEW gowns!  I met Justine at a shootout with an Alice in Wonderland theme and we have stayed in touch, collaborating on some shoots.  We were able to pull this together in kinda shot order thanks to creative minds and flexible personalities  I originally wanted to shoot at the OC Performing Arts Center but that just was not in the cards… I could not afford the $5000 shoot fee, $2000, maybe …  kidding.  So we opted to go to the Mission Inn in Riverside.  I have shot INSIDE the Inn before but never around it and I have to say that I think I found my favorite spot to shoot in Riverside County!  There were arches, doors, brick, trees, flowers, lights, windows and water!

I want to thank Elizabeth Luna for joining us and originally diving me the idea of the location.  Also, I am thankful to Jaime Elyse Stephens for letting me photograph some of her more recent work – BEAUTIFUL stuff!!!  Ladera Flower Shoppe provided the bouquet – Thanks Terry!  And also big thanks go to Jessica Hale for the wonderful work on hair and makeup.  P.S. – Thanks for rocking this shoot with me Justine!

Now, for the pics!

My Best Friend’s Wedding

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Not the movie

When we sat down a few years ago, I realized that I have known Lydia Morgan longer than anyone outside of my family.  I had to think about it for a while, but for sure…  I have known her for 13 years.  The runner up would have to be my friend Jason and his wife and we’ve known each other for going on 9 years.

Anyway, our lives have not kept us physically close, even when she was in California, she was either in Long Beach or Bakersfield.  A while back, she moved to work in D.C. holding a couple different roles. She met Dan there and this past weekend, they were wed at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandri, VA.  John Morgan, Lydia’s father officiated the ceremony.

I had such a good time.  Not only was it a reunion of sorts for the wedding families but I felt great seeing some familiar faces too!

Here is a sneak peek from that day – Congratulations again Dan and Lydia!  I am so happy for you!

P.S. – Thanks for all the Chinese grub!  I think I am STILL full…